The object, the other – the choice of object in adolescence

Psychoanalysis of adolescence

Abstract

This article examines object choice in adolescence, particularly from the perspective of object relations theory. The author reviews the contributions of authors such as Klein, Bion, Winnicott, and Meltzer on the topic of the role and function of the object in the development of the subject. This paper uses a clinical case to illustrate the narcissistic refuges that can occur during adolescence, based on Meltzer's theory of claustrum, which is seen as a defence against the primitive anxieties that arise during this period. The clinical example shows how at the end of the analytic process a fantasy arises of leaving the enclosed space, of 'leaving the monastery' in order to make more creative identifications with primary objects.